Published: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 5:04 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 5:04 p.m.

Raoul Lemieux, who moved his family from Quebec in 1970 and wound up six years later owning and operating one of Ocala’s oldest restaurants, died early Monday.

Lemieux, 83, died from complications from pneumonia, family members said.

Raoul and his wife, Betty, own the Braised Onion restaurant at 754 NE 25th Ave. and have been active in its operation since it opened two years ago. They also were involved in other eateries at the location.

A restaurant has been at the site going back to 1946, when the Drozenko family placed an old Army barracks on the tree-lined, two-lane Hillside Drive and named it the Rustic Grill.

Lemieux’s main passion, family members and restaurant staff recalled, has been the building’s maintenance.

“We couldn’t keep him off the roof,” one Braised Onion staffer said.

“That man never stopped working,” said his son, Guy Lemieux. “And he was such a perfectionist.”

When he was young, Raoul Lemieux was a gold miner in Canada, they said. After he and Betty married, they moved to a small community about 1,200 miles north of Montreal, where they opened a grocery store, a restaurant and several other businesses. He moved his family to the United States — North Miami Beach — in 1970. They came to Ocala in 1976 to buy a fish camp.

“He wanted to buy a business to teach his sons and me all that he had learned,” Lassiter said.

Lassiter and Guy Lemieux still in Ocala; brothers Rene and John live elsewhere, Lassiter said.

Guy Lemieux said the fish camp deal fell through, “but the Realtor said there was a little restaurant maybe my father would be interested in. He wanted so much to move to Marion County; he wanted his children away from South Florida.”

The restaurant was the Rustic Grill, next door to where the Ocala Elks Club is located today. Next to the restaurant was a small house into which the family moved. Over the next five years, Raoul Lemieux and his children connected the house to the existing restaurant to create the facility that exists today.

“During the day we would work on construction,” Guy Lemieux said. “At three we would stop, clean up and go to work at the restaurant. We never closed except for two weeks during all that. All the rock you see on the exterior, my dad broke that by hand with a hammer and a sledge, and put it in place himself.”

His dad, Guy Lemieux said, would work in the kitchen and learned to cook from the Puerto Rican chef while their mother was the front-of-house hostess and the four kids were the servers.

“And then we’d get up the next day, and do it all over again,” he said.

In 1980, the family renamed the venue the Rustic Inn. In its day, it was a gathering spot for the area’s movers and shakers.

Nearly 10 years later, Lassiter recalled, they leased the facility to Shells Seafood for a local unit to be managed by Ocala native Bob Hightower. But Hightower and Shells parted ways. Shells moved to College Road and he stayed put, renaming the eatery Hightower’s Seafood & Steaks.

“I had a wonderful 17-year relationship with them,” Hightower said. “Mr. Lemieux was a wonderful landlord.”

After Hightower retired in 2006, there were some attempts to reopen an eatery there, but it wasn’t until 2011 when the Lemieux family hired Loring Felix, considered one of the area’s top chefs, and considered reopening a restaurant, which gave birth to the Braised Onion.

“I will be forever grateful to Betty and Raoul for having confidence in me to open another restaurant and to trust me with their kitchen,” Felix said. “He’s not just a friend; he’s family.”

One of Raoul Lemieux’s proudest moments as a restaurateur came at the Taste of Ocala event earlier this year when the Braised Onion won the top awards, his children said.

“It’s my mom and dad’s life work that you see when you come to the restaurant,” Lassiter said.

<p>Raoul Lemieux, who moved his family from Quebec in 1970 and wound up six years later owning and operating one of Ocala's oldest restaurants, died early Monday.</p><p>Lemieux, 83, died from complications from pneumonia, family members said.</p><p>Raoul and his wife, Betty, own the Braised Onion restaurant at 754 NE 25th Ave. and have been active in its operation since it opened two years ago. They also were involved in other eateries at the location.</p><p>A restaurant has been at the site going back to 1946, when the Drozenko family placed an old Army barracks on the tree-lined, two-lane Hillside Drive and named it the Rustic Grill.</p><p>Lemieux's main passion, family members and restaurant staff recalled, has been the building's maintenance.</p><p>“We couldn't keep him off the roof,” one Braised Onion staffer said.</p><p>“That man never stopped working,” said his son, Guy Lemieux. “And he was such a perfectionist.”</p><p>Added Guy's sister, Nicole Lassiter: “Whatever needed doing, he did it. He was a fabulous father, a loving provider and protector. I'll especially miss his quiet calm.”</p><p>When he was young, Raoul Lemieux was a gold miner in Canada, they said. After he and Betty married, they moved to a small community about 1,200 miles north of Montreal, where they opened a grocery store, a restaurant and several other businesses. He moved his family to the United States — North Miami Beach — in 1970. They came to Ocala in 1976 to buy a fish camp.</p><p>“He wanted to buy a business to teach his sons and me all that he had learned,” Lassiter said.</p><p>Lassiter and Guy Lemieux still in Ocala; brothers Rene and John live elsewhere, Lassiter said.</p><p>Guy Lemieux said the fish camp deal fell through, “but the Realtor said there was a little restaurant maybe my father would be interested in. He wanted so much to move to Marion County; he wanted his children away from South Florida.”</p><p>The restaurant was the Rustic Grill, next door to where the Ocala Elks Club is located today. Next to the restaurant was a small house into which the family moved. Over the next five years, Raoul Lemieux and his children connected the house to the existing restaurant to create the facility that exists today.</p><p>“During the day we would work on construction,” Guy Lemieux said. “At three we would stop, clean up and go to work at the restaurant. We never closed except for two weeks during all that. All the rock you see on the exterior, my dad broke that by hand with a hammer and a sledge, and put it in place himself.”</p><p>His dad, Guy Lemieux said, would work in the kitchen and learned to cook from the Puerto Rican chef while their mother was the front-of-house hostess and the four kids were the servers.</p><p>“And then we'd get up the next day, and do it all over again,” he said.</p><p>In 1980, the family renamed the venue the Rustic Inn. In its day, it was a gathering spot for the area's movers and shakers.</p><p>Nearly 10 years later, Lassiter recalled, they leased the facility to Shells Seafood for a local unit to be managed by Ocala native Bob Hightower. But Hightower and Shells parted ways. Shells moved to College Road and he stayed put, renaming the eatery Hightower's Seafood & Steaks.</p><p>“I had a wonderful 17-year relationship with them,” Hightower said. “Mr. Lemieux was a wonderful landlord.”</p><p>After Hightower retired in 2006, there were some attempts to reopen an eatery there, but it wasn't until 2011 when the Lemieux family hired Loring Felix, considered one of the area's top chefs, and considered reopening a restaurant, which gave birth to the Braised Onion.</p><p>“I will be forever grateful to Betty and Raoul for having confidence in me to open another restaurant and to trust me with their kitchen,” Felix said. “He's not just a friend; he's family.”</p><p>One of Raoul Lemieux's proudest moments as a restaurateur came at the Taste of Ocala event earlier this year when the Braised Onion won the top awards, his children said.</p><p>“It's my mom and dad's life work that you see when you come to the restaurant,” Lassiter said.</p><p><i>Contact Rick Allen at 867-4154 or rick.allen@starbanner.com.</i></p>